In 1998, about 12,400
children under 20 in the US were found to have cancer (1).
That same year, 2,500 children died from cancer (2).

The federal government
tracks cancer only in certain parts of the US. Based on these areas, the National
Cancer Institute estimates that about 150 children out of one million will be
found to have cancer each year (2). Cancer is much more common in adults than in children.
By comparison, the cancer rate for people of all ages in the US was about 4000
cases per million persons in the US (1).

Only about 2% of all cases
of cancer occur in children. Children under the age of 18 represent almost
26% of the population of the US (3).

Cancer kills more children
than any other disease. Cancer is the second most common cause of death
in children, second only to injuries. Leukemia is the most common cancer in
children, and brain and central nervous system cancers are second.

Though a relatively small
number of children die from cancer, the average number of years of life lost
is extremely high -- about 70 years. Fortunately, however, the death rate from
childhood cancer has decreased dramatically since 1970 for most forms of childhood
cancer, largely due to improved treatments.

Treatments for childhood
cancer may lead to other health effects later in life, however, including developmental
effects and other cancers (4, 5). One study of adult survivors of childhood cancer
found that 58% had at least one chronic medical problem (6).
The effects can include premature death, additional cancers, organ damage, hormonal
problems, or infertility. In a recent study in Germany, survivors of childhood
cancer were 12 times as likely as other children to experience a second cancer
by age 15 (7).

Tragically, cancer is most
common in the youngest children, particularly in infants less than one year
old. 40% of cases of cancer occur in children under five years of age. The
frequency (incidence) of cancer decreases during the childhood years and increases
again when children reach adolescence.